


teeth to tear flesh, and paws to guide you

by iidiiot



Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gen, Mentioned Dave | Technoblade, Mentioned Jschlatt (Video Blogging RPF), Mentioned Niki | Nihachu, Mentioned Philza, dog dream au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27296221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iidiiot/pseuds/iidiiot
Summary: george finds a dog. he names it dream.- a series of shorts detailing how dream finds his way into everyone's hearts.
Relationships: Antfrost & Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Antfrost & Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Darryl Noveschosch, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound & Darryl Noveschosch & Sapnap, Clay | Dream & GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Luke | Punz, Clay | Dream & Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream & Toby Smith | Tubbo, Clay | Dream & TommyInnit (Video Blogging RPF)
Comments: 78
Kudos: 589





	1. making home where the heart is.

**Author's Note:**

> hello! i should start this off by saying that this is a relatively old work of mine. i've done some editing since then, but it was also my first attempt writing for these guys. my apologies if they seem ooc.
> 
> secondly, this is a dog dream au. it's pretty much a normal minecraft universe, except that dream is a dog. that's it. it's based (mostly on the idea alone) off of george's "minecraft, but my friend is a dog..." video.
> 
> lastly, i have three parts for this written already. that is subject to change if i decide to write more, and tags will be updated accordingly. as of the moment, the fic will be marked as three chapters, but that is also subject to change.

george wasn't sure where the dog came from, if he was honest. he was setting up camp outside the cave he was planning to comb through and dig out. the cave entrance had been clear one second, then the dog was limping out the next. it froze in the cave entrance and george panicked. the dog was scruffy, visibly injured, and looked about half-starved. he might not be the brightest guy out there, but even he knew that spelled out the recipe for a feral dog.

he made sure to keep extra still, hoping it would keep moving and decide he wasn't a threat. it did the opposite. it sat down in the entrance and stared at him, green eyes unnerving.

george sighed, "good thing it's late already. i'll just-- leave food out for it so it doesn't kill me, sleep tonight, and explore the cave in the morning." the dog didn't seem keen on moving anytime soon and george still had a camp to finish setting up. he got back to work, making sure to keep an eye on the dog just in case it decided to attack.

he was just finishing up with his sleeping bag, standing up to brush himself off proudly and start the fire when he heard the telltale twinge of a bow string. he panicked, drew his sword and spun around. he didn't have a shield-- the skeleton fired, the arrow piercing right through his leg. his feet came out from under him when he stumbled, falling backward and sending his sword skittering across the forest floor. the skeleton notched another arrow and was beginning to draw back.. george scrambled for his sword, narrowly missing the next arrow shot.

a growl startled him and he looked around rapidly, frantic and terrified. a white blur rocketed past him, heading straight for the skeleton and he gaped, watching as the feral dog from before tore the skeleton to shreds. it went up in a cloud of smoke and it dropped a bone and a pair of arrows to the floor. those green eyes turned toward him sharply and george held his breath, hoping the dog wouldn't decide to make a snack out of him. it watched him for a minute, then twisted to scoop up the skeleton's drops. it took george too long to realize the dog was moving toward him-- too long, in fact, that the dog was already in front of him by the time he noticed.

"please don't eat me, please don't eat me, please don't eat me--" george repeated, eyes shut tightly and arms raised defensively. when he didn't feel like he was being ripped apart, he peeked an eye open. the dog was stood in front of him, maybe two blocks away, and when it noticed it had his attention, it dropped the bone and arrows at his feet. he hesitantly opened his other eye and the dog blinked-- was it's tail wagging?

george sat up and leaned forward slowly, picking up the bone and arrows and tucking them away. the dog perked up slightly and gave a soft yip, tail picking up speed. getting an idea, george searched his inventory for some meat, drawing it out and offering it hesitantly to the dog. it barked and took the meat from his hand without argument, limping a few paces to the opposite side of his camp before laying down to gnaw on the mutton.

carefully, george pushed himself to his feet and picked his sword up, limping over to light his fire before settling himself down on his sleeping bag. the dog merely watched him, tail wagging lazily and ears pricked. "okay.." he mumbled, turning his attention away from the dog and toward the arrow in his leg. it wasn't hard to tend to-- he pulled the arrow free and wrapped it neatly, stretching his leg out toward the fire.

snagging another piece of cooked mutton from his inventory, george yawned and gulped it down. his eyes fell to the dog again-- it was finished with it's meal and curled up facing him, eyes lidded but watching him cautiously. "right. well-- er.. goodnight, doggy," he mumbled, easing his way into his sleeping bag. hopefully the dog wouldn't decide that he was a better meal than the mutton he'd been given, but he was too tired from the ordeal to feel like trying to lure the dog off.

george woke with a strange warmth pressed against his side through his sleeping back and panicked. he shot up and looked around-- finally his eyes fell to his side, where the dog was curled up and staring into the trees almost dutifully. at the foot of his sleeping bag, beside the dog, was a pile of mob drops-- bones, rotten flesh, string, gunpowder.. he blinked and the dog tipped it's head toward him, tongue lolling and tail wagging.

he hesitated, then reached over and rested his hand on the dog's head. it yapped and spun, resting it's head in his lap. "uh, hey there, doggy," he mumbled sleepily, scratching behind the dog's ears. he couldn't help a slight grin as he slid out of his sleeping bag and stood up, the dog rising alongside him. his attention was drawn to the leg the dog was favoring, it's paw held just off the ground.

"here, lemme get that fixed up for you," george stated, pulling out bandages and kneeling at the dog's height. it barked again and hobbled forward, allowing him to carefully wrap it's leg up without so much as a nip. once he finished, he straightened up, proud of his handiwork. "you wanna come into the caves with me, doggy?"

the dog yipped, tail blurring slightly as it wagged. 

"i'll take that as a yes," george laughed, sorting out his inventory quickly before heading into the cave, the dog on his heels.

the dog was truly a miracle in the cave. it defended him while he mined and stayed at his side nearly the whole time, though the cave ended up being mostly a bust anyway. a stack and a bit of coal and a little under a half a stack of iron later and george and the dog were exiting the cave, the sun just beginning to set again.

"good boy! who's a good boy? you are!" george couldn't help but praise the dog as they sat beside the fire later, cooking steaks over it. "you really were a dream come true! i thought that skeleton had me for sure. and all those monsters you killed while i was sleeping, not to mention down in the cave--" he rubbed his hands down the dog's neck and grinned. "hey-- that's what i'll call you. dream. you like that?"

the dog yapped happily, butting against george's face with his nose, drawing a giggle out of him. "i'll take that as a yes too. bad and sapnap are going to love you! god, i can't wait to show you to them--"

george pulled both steaks off the fire, tossing one over to dream and nibbling on the other one. "we'll stay at camp again tonight, then pack up in the morning and head back tomorrow. let's get some sleep, dream." the dog curled up on top of his legs after he crawled into his sleeping back and george was really too tired to stay awake much longer.

packing up in the morning took a little longer than planned, what with dream distracting him every now and again, but he cleaned up his campsite and he and dream started back for the village. the trip back didn't take long either, and george waved to the iron golem he, bad, and sapnap had built as he approached their house.

"come on, dream. i promise they'll love you," he told the dog, swinging the door open. "bad! sapnap! i'm back from my mining trip!" george heard bad shout something unintelligible up from their storage room, followed by the loud thuds of him running up the stairs.

"george! what took you so long, you were supposed to be back.. by now.." bad trailed off, eyes falling immediately to dream sat loyally at george's side. "wha-- where'd you get a dog from?"

"he saved me out at the cave, and then he wanted to come back with me. he even helped out while i was mining," george explained, scratching behind dream's ears again. he continued, "i know he needs a good bath and a collar and all that, but he's such a good dog!"

"george, you know what we said about pets--"

"but bad.. i'll feed him and take care of him all on my own, i promise. and he'll help out too! he's really useful," george protested, voice pitched to something like that of a little kid.

bad frowned, looking hesitant. "i.. i guess he can stay, since he seems well behaved." he pauses, just long enough to stammer, "but just for now! sapnap ran out a little while ago. if he says yes, then he can stay but if he says no, then.. you know.." he made a little shooing gesture with his hands.

dream's tail stopped wagging for probably the first time since he'd befriended him. george pouted and dropped down to his knees, gripping the dog's face between his hands. "we'll convince sapnap to let you stay. once you get a good bath and a brushing and a collar, you'll look like a brand new dog. and you'll be so cute, he'll just have to let you stay."

dream barked and his tail picked back up. george grinned and straightened up, opening his inventory. "here, bad. the iron and coal from that cave. i would smelt the iron myself but i've gotta give dream a bath." he dumped the iron ore and coal into bad's arms and turned, ignoring the other's stammering and protests in favor of leading dream back outside.

george searched his inventory for his bucket and wood, using planks and slabs to make a temporary tub to fill and bath dream in. he dumped the bucket into the tub and looked down at dream. "er-- in? get in the tub, dream," he directed weakly, grin spreading when the dog hopped in with a splash.

"see? i knew you were a good boy!" george cheered, crouching down beside the wooden tub to begin washing dream's dirt-covered fur off.

when he finally finished washing him, george was ready to take it all back. the dog had splashed around and shaken off water the entire time, soaking george, the tub, and everything around the tub. but once it was done, dream did look much better. his fur was lighter in color than the dusty brown-- something more like a gray-white. his tongue lolled and his tail wagged as george dried him off and, despite his best efforts, george couldn't get his fur to lie totally flat. no matter what he did, it always stuck up and gave him a cleaner, yet still scruffy appearance. somehow, he felt it suited dream regardless.

"i think i know just the thing for you, dream. we'll get you looking like a pet in no time. sapnap won't be able to say no to that face." george led him into town, stopping around to grab a couple of things-- namely a harness. a bandana followed suit, as george couldn't help but think it suited him. dream stayed at his side the entire time, trotting ahead then dropping back to walk beside him without needing to be called back. 

he waited until they got back to the house to dress dream up, sitting him down in his room and slipping his collar and harness on. the dog licked his nose when he leaned in to tie the bandana and george laughed. standing up, he planted his hands on his hips and grinned. "you look so good. sapnap and bad won't be able to turn you away now."

the door slamming down the stairs drew his attention. "speaking of sapnap-- come on, dream. we have to get him attached to you before bad gets to him." dream bounded down the stairs ahead of him, skittering loudly once he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"oh my god--" sapnap was saying, backed against the door, "when did we get a dog? how did it get in the house--"

george snickered. "this is dream. he came back with me from my mining trip. isn't he great?"

sapnap shifted hesitantly away from the door. "is he friendly? he won't bite me, right?" he stepped closer, holding a hand out.

george rolled his eyes. "of course he won't bite you. i wouldn't have brought him home if he wasn't friendly. please let him stay-- bad said you get the last say."

the other paused when he said that, eyes darting between dream and george. "you do know what we said about pets though, george.."

a low rumbling had both boys eyeing the dog, startled and panicked. dream's teeth were bared and he was growling audibly, stance widened. sapnap looked panicked, scrambling backward toward the door. "dream!" george shouted, dropping to his knees and grabbing ahold of his harness.

"why would i let him stay?-- i thought you said he was friendly!" sapnap was shouting, sword drawn and waving limply in dream's direction. the dog's growls got louder and he lunged, jerking against george's hold on his harness. "okay, okay! hee can stay if it gets him to stop trying to eat me!"

instantly, dream was pacified, dropping back onto his haunches. his tongue lolled and his tail swayed behind him. he yipped loudly and both men looked beyond bewildered, the sudden change startling. george recovered faster than sapnap did, jumping into action. "thanks for letting him stay, sapnap. we'll uh-- we'll be going now! bye!" he scrambled for his room, leaving dream to scamper after him.

so what if he'd gone out for iron and come back with a dog? he'd still gotten the iron, and he was sure bad and sapnap would warm up to him eventually anyway.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next one, we see dream bond with one badboyhalo :)


	2. sleep soundly, yet softly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> george left bad and dream alone at camp.
> 
> they really have no choice but to get along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dream in the woods, what will he do.

it wasn't the worst possible situation to end up in, bad thought; so what if george had abandoned him with his demon dog? okay, so maybe the dog wasn't horrible. he wouldn't kill bad in his sleep, at least. and he kept george from getting killed at every other turn. for that, bad was grateful. he'd give dream the benefit of the doubt.

bad was shocked dream had actually listened when george told him to stay with him. the dog seemed to thrive on disobeying george's commands, or following them as loosely as possible. but now, here he was, sat across the fire from him and making somewhat uncomfortable eye contact. he wasn't really sure what to do now, with dream watching him, gaze something akin to judgemental, and george nowhere to be found.

"i'll.. uh.. just cook us something to eat--" bad fumbled in his inventory, then paused, "george took all our food with him, that muffin!" he shared a brief look with dream, who looked a strange mix between tired and unbothered. "what are we going to eat now? it's dark out and there'll be monsters everywhere.. you would think he would have left something for you, at least."

bad blinked, rant stumbling to halt when the dog rose from his place by the fire, tail swaying, and trotted off into the darkness.

"george is going to kill me, if i don't starve to death first! now his dog just ran off and is going to get himself killed, oh my gosh--" he dropped his head to his hands, pressing his palms firmly into his eyes, "i'm so dead. george is never going to forgive me.."

he sulks for a few more minutes, debates his options. running away and adopting a new identity sounds like a plausible idea. or maybe just hiding and becoming a cave dweller for the rest of his life. then again, maybe he should just accept his fate. he isn't sure he could live with the knowledge that he'd let george's precious pet get killed.

bad is still rolling in self pity when something drops into his lap. he shrieks, throws it off and is on his feet instantly. when he finally gets his bearings back, he's met with dream standing just in front of him and a small pile of uncooked pork laying to his left by the fire. the dog has the gall (and frightening ability) to look offended, gazing almost sadly at the meat on the ground. his sad, puppy dog eyes turn next to bad who feels insanely guilty even though he feels his response was justified.

"you shouldn't have just dropped it in my lap! you scared me!" he defends himself, but dream doesn't appear convinced in the slightest. he shakes his head and stoops to pick up the pork, wiping it off and sticking it on the fire to cook. "i'm sorry.. i'm just tired and-- and hungry. i'll let you have the first porkchop to make it up to you, since you got them for us anyways. and thank you for that, by the way."

he's going insane, bad realizes as he talks to george's dog as if it can even understand a word he's saying. he goes to sit back on the log he had set up by the fire, and then dream is stretching out at his feet rather than across from him on the opposite side of the fire. he gapes for a startled, drawn out moment, and then leans forward to rest his head on his knees.

dream snuffles softly and bumps his head against bad's knee. "what-- no, i'm fine. just like.. go to sleep or something. and don't run off again." bad orders. dream merely stares up at him, curled up on top of bad's feet.

"fine. be like that then," he grumbles, directing his attention back to the pork chops, which look about done. he stands and collects all five of them, dropping one for dream and holding onto the other four. he pulls out one and eats it, tucking the others away for later. he watches dream wolf down the meat, then stand up. he's preparing himself for a long night of trying to keep the dog from running off when dream snags his hand between his teeth. bad is sure he's about to lose a few fingers, but the dog keeps his grip light and simply forces him to stand.

he's sure he could just yank his hand free, but he's much too tired to fight him as dream drags him over toward where he and george set up their sleeping bags earlier. only his remains and dream lets go of him to pull the sleeping bag closer to the fire. bad watches in tired fascination and goes without argument when the dog pulls him over to the sleeping bag. he's being stared at as he just stands there, so he sits down. dream blinks, so he moves into his sleeping bag. it seems to pacify the dog and bad really doesn't have any intention on dozing off-- there are too many monsters around despite the fire, too much danger in general-- but he's exhausted and nearly unconscious the moment his head hits the soft cushion of his sleeping bag.

bad blinks awake with a start, rocketing up and searching around frantically. he hadn't meant to fall asleep. surely monsters had killed him and-- he pats himself down, searches his inventory. everything is still there. he's still in the camp he and george had set up. still in his sleeping bag, even.

next, he looks around properly. the fire is smoldering and nothing looks out of place otherwise. dream is sat firmly between him and the treeline. he stares. the dog is wavering slightly, form leaning to one side and head drooping.

"dream?" bad mumbles, squinting, and the dog is turning to look at him. dream looks.. nothing short of exhausted. he rises, trembles in place for a moment, then moves closer to him. bad goes to clamber out of his sleeping bag and kicks something that rattles and squelches grossly. a pile of monster loot is resting at the foot of his sleeping bag, tossed messily together. when he looks back at dream, the dog's tongue is lolling and his tail is wagging, though only weakly.

"did you-- you stayed up all night. to protect me from the monsters while i slept." the realisation hits him like a stack of bricks, and dream yaps. he kicks his sleeping bag off and shuffles to his knees in front of dream, hesitantly moving to rest his hand on his head. "good boy. thank you."

dream nuzzles into his hand. then his jaws part on a massive yawn and bad feels instantly terrible again. "you rest up while i pack up camp. george can find his own way back, for all i care. it's what he gets for ditching me. for ditching us. isn't that right, dream?" the dog barks, and bad takes it as agreement.

the process of packing up a camp made for two people with one person is more time consuming than bad would have hoped, but he still makes great time. dream is watching him the entire time, eyes lidded and sleepy. once he finishes packing up, he pauses and turns to meet the dog's eyes.

his gut clenches and he sighs, trodding over and kneeling to scoop dream into his arms. dream goes tense for a moment, then loosens up and drops his chin to bad's shoulder. "get some rest, you muffin. i told you to do that before but you didn't, and now i have to carry you.." bad pauses then, before sighing, "don't tell george. and definitely don't tell sapnap."

dream barks again, then draws his wet, slobbery tongue over bad's cheek. "i'll take that as a thank you. so, you're welcome," he fakes a gag, but rubs a hand over dream's neck gently. he'll accept it, even if it is kind of gross.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sapnap is next :))


	3. the enemy of your enemy is your friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> dream takes a bullet for sapnap. not literally, but close enough.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> dream ends up okay, don't worry :)

sapnap blames george. he blames george so, so much. he, bad, and george had all planned to explore this massive cave system bad had started to scope out but found to be too big for him on his own. they'd gone down into the cave at dawn and, as it grew later, george said he and his dog would head up to set up camp for all of them. bad and sapnap had kept mining, keeping an eye on the clock george had parted with, and decided to head up a little while after night had fallen.

the moment they'd exited the cave into the open plains around them, sapnap knew george had failed to set up their camp. and was also nowhere to be found. the camp was half set up, their sleeping bags thrown out and a fire half built. but already the monsters had spotted them and were closing in fast.

bad draws his sword and shouts, "is that george over there?" sapnap squints as he unsheathes his sword. the boy in question is surrounded by a descending mob of monsters, closing in fast. his form, visibly frantic even from this distance, disappears from view.

"that's george. where's his dog?" bad doesn't even respond to his statement, just rockets off toward george, shouting his name. sapnap is left to follow, swiping at monsters that draw too close.

their approach draws a sizeable amount of monsters off of george, so sapnap jumps immediately into battle. he digs out his shield quickly, using it to block an arrow just in time. a well aimed kick has a zombie turning to smoke. his sneaker squelches on the rotten flesh but he moves on, drawing back his sword arm and cutting through a skeleton. bad and george are faring about as well as he is and eventually they end up back to back.

"george, where's dream?" bad shouts over the sound of the monsters as sapnap shield bashes a creeper, slicing through it with his sword afterward.

"and what happened to setting up camp?" he cuts in swiftly.

"wh-- you guys don't have dream?" george's panic seems to skyrocket, though he draws his bow back and drives an arrow home in a spider's head.

"why would we have dream?" sapnap detects a hint of panic in bad's voice now. he knows the other likes to pretend he isn't too attached to george's dog, but sapnap knows better. they all do.

"i sent him back to get you guys! i wasn't able to set up camp fast enough on my own and i told him to go back in to get you!" sapnap curses as he swings a leg up, the back of his foot connecting with a skeleton's skull and sending it scattering. george sounds beyond panicked now and a short glance shows that he's jittery, itching to go find his dog.

bad exhales heavily as he finishes cutting the head from a zombie's shoulders. "they just keep coming!"

george shrieks when a zombie grabs hold of him and sends him to the ground. there's a sharp growl and a flash of white and then the zombie is being torn off of george and thrown to the side. dream looks a little worse for wear but overall uninjured as he rips the zombie apart, moving on quickly to a spider, then a skeleton. nothing seems capable of stopping his wrath and with his help, the number of monsters slowly begins to dwindle.

bad is cutting through a pair of skeletons and george is finishing off a trio of spiders, though that seems to be the last of the monsters. sapnap pants, dropping his hands to his knees. his friends are just as exhausted and a quick look at dream is-- well.. terrifying. the dog is covered in the gore of the monsters he's killed, fur tinted a dark color rather than it's usual off-white. he's surrounded by monster drops and still growling as he practically tears a skeleton's head from it's body.

the dog leaps off and turns, still growling-- then pauses and settles almost scarily fast. if not for the tint to half of his fur, he'd look almost normal as he heaves a massive yawn and looks over at sapnap. he waves a little out of mostly instinct. the dog's tail wags and his large ears swivel. sapnap turns away and dream trots past him to george's side.

he gags a little when george drops to his knees, wrapping dream in a hug. can't he see how filthy the dog is? clearly not, as george is rubbing happily at the dog's fur, singing his praise.

"such a good boy, dreamie! i'm so glad you're okay!" george is saying and sapnap looks over at bad, who is watching with a fond expression. his eyes shift and he meets sapnap's gaze-- his mouth curls into a crooked, soft smile and sapnap smirks back.

"what now? we can't just stay out here, and it's too late to make camp," sapnap grumbles, shooting george a look. he's extracting himself from his gross, muck-covered dog and it's just then that sapnap realises how filthy all of them are. we'll need showers when we get back, he thinks.

both of his friends turn to look at him and george's eyes fly wide. bad shouts, "sapnap, look out!" there's a loud sizzle behind him and he feels the moment his heart leaves his chest, the world seeming to slow. he feels something blur past him more than sees it as he turns, lifting his arms to block the explosion as best he could. if only his shield hadn't broken in the middle of the fight--

he hears the explosion and gets thrown back a couple of blocks, stumbling more than he is thrown. bad catches him and his ears still feel a little fuzzy but he hears george scream, "dream!"

sapnap stumbles, shakes his head, and looks. there's a small crater where the creeper had exploded and the dog is nowhere to be found. george and bad look frozen and it hits sapnap slower than he would've liked. george's dog, the demon creature that it was, just took a creeper explosion for him.

"why--" he's forcing out, even as he's scrambling to collect his dropped sword and moving toward the crater. the dog didn't like him-- they both knew it, they all knew it. so why would dream--

he drops into the crater and hits the dirt on his knees beside the dog. dream's head moves slightly, eyes shifting in his direction and legs scrambling weakly beneath him. "oh my god--" sapnap spits a curse. the dog is coated in soot and ash and blood and his head hangs even as he finds purchase and rises, legs quivering.

rapid footsteps behind him draw his attention briefly and he hardly has to look to know it's bad and george. he shakes. he hadn't thought-- he didn't like dream, dream didn't like him. that's how it was supposed to work. but now..

sapnap scrubs at his face to wipe away the tears threatening to spill. angry tears, upset tears, pity tears-- he isn't sure. he sniffles and leans, scooping dream up as gently as he can. the dog doesn't even protest, just lays limp in his arms and sapnap can't even tell if he's still conscious or not. but he's moving before he can even really process it, exhaustion forgotten as he throws himself out of the hole and rockets back in the direction of their house. he doesn't have to look to know bad and george are hot on his heels.

he can't help the tears as they fall down his face now. he's angry. with dream, for doing this. with himself, for hating this dog for as long as he did. he's upset. he could've prevented this if he'd just paid a little more attention--

he's startled when something wet and slobbery is drawn over his face and he blinks wide eyes, gaze shifting down to dream. the dog is looking at him almost kindly, tail swaying ever-so-slightly against his arm. dream licks his face again, wiping the tears from his cheeks. more tears well up and fall but dream yaps softly and sets his head down. sapnap draws up and moves faster-- he doesn't think he's ever run this fast before. george and bad are shouting behind him, yells growing distant as they struggle to keep up, but he ignores it in favor of getting dream back to base-- back home.

how could he ever have hated this dog? how could he have ever thought dream hated him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> posting this has put me in the mood for writing more dog dream, so there might be more coming soon.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed!!
> 
> (and yes. sapnap totally ended up doting on dream's every whim until he was completely healed. george likes to tease him for it sometimes.)


	4. the ramblings of a temporarily blind man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tommy and tubbo meet dream. dream will not leave them alone. i guess they've got to take him along now, huh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> poor fundy.

when tommy had met dream, it had gone-- well, normal. at first. he hadn't even known it was george's dog, honest! he and tubbo had been wandering the village, allowed out of the house for a short time while the others ran errands. close to where the village.. he was hesitant to call them leaders, for they insisted they weren't and never actually took part in any villages discussions, but they'd built the village up to the bustling town that it was now-- close to where they lived. it was on the outskirts, where not many people lived, and their house was massive. much larger than most of the other houses, anyway.

tubbo had spotted the dog first, cooing loudly. it had drawn tommy's attention from whatever gesture-filled rant he'd been on, and drawn the dog's attention from the hole it was digging in the large house's yard. instantly, its tail was wagging so fast that it seemed to blur a little. tubbo stuck his hand out when the dog approached and it sniffed, then shoved its head against his hand. he dropped to the gravel path to pet the dog properly. tommy turned away.

"hey there, doggy.." tommy listened to his friend laugh, scratching behind the dog's ear. "tommy, you have to meet him. he's so friendly!" turning to face them, tommy paused. the dog was practically in tubbo's lap, licking at his hands and face as the brunet cooed loudly.

"what? no way! what if he's fuckin'.. feral or something? he could give us rabies!" that statement is enough to give tubbo pause, but he goes right back to petting the dog,

"he's all clean, and he's got a collar though, tommy. i'm sure he's not gonna give us rabies."

tommy glowers briefly in the dog's direction, who looks much too smug for a dog when he meets his eyes. after a long moment of debating and putting up with tubbo's puppy eyes, he settles on his knees to pacify him. "we don't even know who's dog it is. what if they get upset? and i thought you preferred bees. or fish."

tubbo's face drops at the thought that someone might get upset with them for petting the dog, but he doesn't stop. "i do. but that doesn't mean i can't like dogs too! come on, tommy. you've got to pet him."

the blond crosses his arms stubbornly, but ends up caving rather quickly. one pet can't hurt. it would get tubbo to stop making those stupid sad eyes that make him feel just a little bit bad, anyway. hesitantly, he reaches out and sets his hand on the dog's head, ruffling his fur between his ears. the dog barks and stumbles free of tubbo's legs, all-too-happy to receive attention from the both of them. it takes tommy a moment to register that he's done more than just pat the dog's head-- his fingers are curling carefully into the messy fur on the dog's back before he knows it. quickly, he yanks his hand back.

tubbo grasps the dog's collar with gentle fingers and leans down to read the tag clinking noisily. "his name is dream, i think," the boy states.

"that's a stupid name," tommy declares in turn. the dog has the gall to look offended, tongue lolling. his attention is drawn away when tubbo returns to petting him and tommy is almost thankful. he never thought he'd be that intimidated by a dog-- not that he'd ever say that much out loud.

the dog perks suddenly and tommy hears distant shouting. he's clambering into tommy's lap now, and the blond boy sputters, hands moving jerkily and without any real purpose other than to display how baffled he is. tubbo merely laughs at him while he pets dream and tommy goes to start shouting when there's another yell, far less distant and definitely decipherable this time,

"dream? where are you, dude?"

someone turns the corner and stops. someone else turns the corner and slams into that first person..

tommy blinks, hands clutching at the dog's fur instinctively. standing right there, just at the end of the path, are the infamous bad and sapnap. he isn't intimidated by them. no way. but he feels he's been put at a disadvantage if they chose to fight, since dream isn't moving from his lap and that has him trapped on the ground. it would be very unfair if they fought him like this.

the pair are approaching and even tubbo looks a little nervous now, though dream still hasn't budged. "er-- hello!" bad greets politely, staring down at them.

"hi," tubbo pipes up, hand frozen against the dog's back. "we were just-- uh.. we were just petting him."

"we can see that," sapnap agrees, foot tapping. "dream, come on. george is looking for you." the order goes ignored, for dream still won't move from where he sits, pinning tommy's legs to the ground.

"we didn't know he was y--"

"what the fuck? george has a fucking dog?" tommy bursts out. tubbo looks appalled, gaping and wide eyed.

"language," bad says almost instinctively.

"yes, george has a dog. dream. come here." sapnap insists. still, the dog just stares. tommy thinks he would be grinning, having the time of his life disobeying, if he were human. sapnap grumbles, "you try, bad."

"dream, can you please come with us?" the hooded man asks pleasantly. again, dream just watches impassively. "please?" he tries again. nothing.

tubbo stands. "um.. dream. come here. please." instantly, the dog is freeing tommy's legs and scampering over to tubbo. he peers over at sapnap and bad innocently, who gape. tubbo looks shocked that it worked. tommy shouts something unintelligible.

"go.. go with badboyhalo and sapnap," the brunet says next. the dog ignores that command, remaining loyally by the boy's feet. "tommy, you can go back home. i'll.. i'll help them bring dream back before meeting up with you," tubbo explains after a sigh. "tell wil i'll help with dinner tomorrow."

"er-- sure, yeah.." tommy agrees. he rubs at the back of his neck, then spares a wave and turns to head back down the path. he pauses when he hears the gravel crunch behind him and turns. dream stands there innocently once more. sapnap, bad, and tubbo are staring from just down the path. "uhh," the blond says eloquently.

"go back to sapnap and bad," he orders after a moment, "i'm going home and you can't fucking come." the dog only seems to cling to him harder, physically pressed to his legs. tommy waves his hands indignantly. "stupid bitch dog! go away!" he shrieks. dream looks too smug as he continues to disobey.

"i think, he uh.. i think he wants to go with you two." bad pipes up loudly.

"there's no reasoning with that mutt," sapnap agrees, arms crossed.

tommy looked down at dream as tubbo approaches. "i'm sure they won't be that upset if we bring him back. it's not like we're keeping him. just until he decides to go home," the brunet says, looking dubious.

"if you say so, tubbo. come on then, you dog bastard," tommy grumbles, striding down the path. he hears tubbo, bad, and sapnap saying something but his focus is on the dog practically stepping on his heels, seeming all too gleeful to be doing so. he continues rambling, spitting curses and insults. dream doesn't seem to care, just continues stepping on his feet at every given opportunity.

tubbo catches up a few moments later. "what do we tell wilbur?" he asks, then-- "what do we tell fundy?" his friend looks horrified and tommy feels his own expression twist. "oh, we really didn't think this through.."

"you didn't think this through," the blond declares instead, taking off along the path in order to escape the assault on his heels. tubbo is left to follow. they arrive back at their house rather quickly. it isn't as large as the muffinteer's house (as they've so dubbed themselves), but it was still sizeable. it had to be, when it housed as many people as theirs did. technically, it was just wilbur, tommy, and tubbo. but they always had eret and fundy, and niki over. sometimes phil and techno stopped by, and schlatt on the occasion--

wilbur opens the door as they approach, looking vaguely annoyed when he spots them. "where have you two been? i was just about to send eret and fundy out to find you."

dream decides now is the moment to make his presence known with a loud bark, then he's shoving past wilbur's legs and entering the house. it nearly knocks the taller brunet over and he looks startled, "was that a--" he doesn't get to finish, for a high-pitched screech interrupts him. fundy is wailing like a banshee as he rushes their way, eret following and waving a sword limply in dream's direction to ward him off.

"wilbur, wilbur, why is there a dog?" fundy shouts, clutching at the taller's shirt.

"i don't know, tommy and tubbo, why is there a dog?" wilbur has that 'disappointed older brother' look on his face again, one only eret can match. fundy decides to take shelter behind wilbur now, glaring hard at the two youngest members of their little group.

"we.. uh-- we met badboyhalo and sapnap. and this is, uh, george's dog. he wouldn't let us leave so we kind of had to take him with us," tubbo explains. tommy nods,

"it was all tubbo's idea to pet dream in the first place!" he exclaimed, waving his hands. gesturing, the blond decides to try to call the dog back. "err.. dream. come here, uh, boy. not bitch dog." the dog stares for a moment, seems to thoroughly debate listening or not. eventually, he appears to come to a conclusion of some sort-- he decides to plant himself at wilbur's feet, rather than tommy or tubbo's. this leaves fundy to go scrambling again, seeking shelter behind eret this time.

there's a long pause as dream and wilbur stare at one another. no one speaks. then wilbur sighs and shrugs, crouching down to pet the dog. the look on fundy's face is the epitome of betrayal. eret hid a snicker behind a hand.

it seems that dream has since decided to be on his best behavior, for he puts on the innocent puppy act. he gets eret to warm up to him rather quickly and even manages to weasel a pat out of fundy. he's still a little shit, however. he takes up the whole sofa when he lays down, refuses to listen to what they say most of the time, nearly suffocates tubbo in his fur when he lays down on top of the boy, and just generally gets more fur across their furniture than even fundy does. tommy wouldn't say he hates him, per se, but he doesn't really like him. no way.

it's when he and tubbo are about to head to bed that tommy realizes. he'd left some of his stuff over by george, bad, and sapnap's house when they'd made the abrupt stop.

"ah shit," he mutters, "i left my stuff out there. i'll be right back, don't worry. and i can take the bastard dog back too, since he can't stay here." he manages to coax dream into coming with him as he heads out, intent on making it a quick trip.

now, the village is plenty lit up, there are walls, and an iron golem or two. but things slip through, occasionally. tommy doesn't see the witch, not until he hears the cackle and a glass bottle shatters across his back. his vision darkens and he fumbles for his sword-- which he'd been on his way to get, since he'd left it outside george, bad, and sapnap's house. the blond spits a number of curses and stumbles until his hands hit something solid that feels like wood. likely a wall. he's too far from his house to get help..

"dream!" he shouts, continuing to step back slowly, "go get wilbur. or tubbo, or fundy. get someone, damnit!" he settles on. his heels connect with something and he falls backward, back hitting the ground hard. "how damn long is this stupid potion?"

he strains back for his feet and picks up the sound of growling. the witch's cackling is cut short and something thumps to the ground a short ways away. rapid steps across the gravel follows, if the crunching signifies anything, and then something is tugging at his arm with teeth. tommy goes to shout, to jerk his arm away, but the teeth, while there, don't pierce skin or even put enough pressure to give that impression. there's a low bark and he realizes it's dream-- dream, the stupid bitch dog, who's helping him back up.

the potion is still whirling around him and the blindness effect isn't even starting to fade. he curses again, loudly. "how the hell am i getting back? it's not like you can--" dream is grabbing at his hand with his teeth and pulling on it. his hand is released and, when he goes to move it, dream growls. so he holds still, for fear of pissing the dog off while he's blind and unable to defend himself. the gravel crunches some more, then something is pressing up against his palm. it's thin and a kind of scratchy material-- tommy curls his fingers around it, having to lean over a little, and then he's being tugged along.

it was dream's collar. he was holding dream's collar. the dog was smart enough to get him to grab ahold of his collar so he could lead him safely. tommy gapes like a fish out of water, mouth moving as he tries to form words. he finds none, so he just stumbles along with dream. he can't help but giggle a little, maybe hysterically, maybe not, as dream leads him blindly wherever the dog feels like taking him.

by the time they seem to arrive at their destination, the potion is starting to waver a little. not enough for him to see, but tommy can tell it might be getting closer to the time it wears off. hopefully, he fucking hates being blind. it's just awful. dream shakes himself free, leaving tommy to fumble awkwardly for something solid again. he finds a wall and nearly trips over what feel like stairs, but then dream is crunching across the gravel back toward him. he presses something into his hands with his mouth and the blond feels around it. his sword. the process repeats with the rest of the items he'd left, before the dog is taking his hand in his mouth and dragging him up the stairs carefully.

his hand is pressed to what he thinks might be a door, and dream barks, so he knocks regardless. he nearly falls over when the door swings open. "woah, uh, fuckin'.. hey!" he greets, not sure who exactly he's speaking to. he knows where he is now, since dream got his stuff so quickly, but it could be any of them.

"language," bad corrects instinctively, then, "and tommy? what are you doing here this late? not bringing dream back, he's got his own little door for this type of thing."

"yeah, see.. i left some of my stuff near here and i was coming back to get it. so i thought, 'hey, i'll bring the bi-- the uh, dog back while i'm at it!' but there was this nasty fu-- freaking witch and she got me with one of her potions. so now i'm kind of blind. yeah." tommy explains.

bad mumbles something. "do you want to come in? i can get you some milk, quickly, for that blindness. so you can get back." he offers.

"that'd be great, badboyhalo," the blond agrees. he's ushered inside and a bucket of milk is pressed into his hands. he mutters his thanks as he drinks it, glad when his vision jumps back into focus. it's a little disorienting, but he's glad to be able to see again.

"i should go. but, uh.. thanks again, for the milk." he doesn't like feeling like he owes them, but what could he do? he stands and brushes himself off, waving to bad as he trots back down the path outside. crunching of the gravel behind him startles him and he draws his sword, prepared to kill a monster. but it's dream again, rushing along beside him. tommy sighs and goes to shoo him off, but the dog looks determined.

"whatever, thanks for saving me from that bitch of a witch. now shoo." his attempt goes about as well as he'd expected, so he exhales and picks up the pace. he encounters a single spider on his way back, which dream promptly rips apart before he can even draw his sword. it's kind of disgusting actually. he opens the front door to the l'manberg house to let dream in again, but the dog merely barks a few times before turning around and taking off again.

"the stupid bastard dog was escorting me home. damn him. i can take care of myself.." tommy continues muttering under his breath as he stalks inside, shutting the door behind him. tubbo and fundy have disappeared from the common area, most likely going to bed, leaving wilbur and eret.

"good trip?" eret asks cluelessly.

tommy takes a deep breath, exhales slowly, then spits a halfhearted, "shut up, bitch." he doesn't bother to give either of them time to respond as he stomps up the stairs.

wilbur and eret's laughter follows him up. normally, he'd shout. but he doesn't have the energy. and he doesn't want niki to tell him off for waking up the neighbors for it again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed!! mr. punz is next :)


	5. on stable footing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> punz falls down. dream.. jumps down. then they find their way back up together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> punz is underrated, so of course he gets a chapter :)

punz wasn't sure how he ended up in this situation. one moment, he was lost in the forest. the next, he was at the bottom of a ravine. one small misstep and the ground has dropped from under him. he was lucky he was able to dump his water out below him before he hit the ground, or else he probably would've lost all of his stuff. 

now, the question was how he was getting out. digging would take hours, and it was already late. monsters would start spawning soon. he could try navigating out through one of the branching caves, but that wasn't guaranteed to work either. hunkering down for the night and digging his way up in the morning seemed to be the best option, as loathe as he was to admit it. he wasn't really in the mood to be getting lost in cave systems, and he definitely wasn't in the mood to lose his stuff to monsters.

with a soft exhale, punz pulled some cobblestone out of his inventory to make a hasty hut to shelter in. he banged his head on the ceiling when he stepped inside and he couldn't stand up straight, but it would have to do. granted, it was also making him feel claustrophobic-- which he wasn't. so what if a one-by-two shelter was all he could manage? it was getting stuffy inside already, and he'd just closed it up, but it would have to do.

setting a torch down, he dropped his head back to the cobblestone wall with a thunk. it wouldn't be comfortable but there was no chance anything was getting in, so he shut his eyes. sleep was his best option now that he was boxed in. at least then, time would pass faster and he'd be more awake and aware for when he finally escaped the ravine in the morning.

as expected, sleep was exceedingly difficult and fitful. he kept waking up, limbs cramped and neck aching. after the third or fourth time, he gave up. there was no way he was getting any solid sleep, and the more attempts he made at sleeping, the more his shoulders seemed to ache. he stretched his legs out, the toes of his boots touching the wall on the other side. sorting his inventory was only so interesting, especially after the first time around. he tipped his head back and peered up at the stone roof, shoulders pulled in borderline uncomfortably and arms folded across his chest.

he sat up fast when a splash sounded, then a series of barks. "what.." he breathed, ears straining to catch the hiss of a creeper. he pressed his palms to the stone beside him, stomach sinking when the explosion boomed. he'd been on the receiving end of that one a few too many times, but he could always respawn. the dog couldn't. he started to turn away, but then the barking started back up and something dug at where the wall meet the ground. he stood up so fast that he smashed his head against the ceiling, fumbling for his pickaxe.

it would be even more cramped with the dog in there, but he couldn't just leave it out there with the mobs. he mined out an opening, expecting to see a crowd of monsters. instead, there were scattered monster drops and an empty ravine. the dog's tail wagged and his tongue lolled when punz poked his head out.

"uh, hey there. you did this?" he peered down at the dog, who was covered in monster gore. the dog barked as he stepped out, just to get a better look. "well, you can hide out in here with me until morning," he squinted down at the tag on the dog's collar, "dream. then we can find our way back up, and i guess i'll try to help you find your owner."

dream's eyes narrowed and he barked again, louder. punz barely had a chance to react to the pained hiss of a creeper falling onto the roof of his little hut, the hiss as it prepared to explode, before dream was lunging. the dog grabbed a mouthful of his hoodie and pulled. he stumbled forward and his palms cracked against the ground just as the creeper exploded. the dog had pulled him out of the way. "what kind of dog are you?" he asked aloud, dragging himself back to his feet.

he was barely standing again before the dog was looping around his feet, forcing him clumsily away from the crater. "woah, hey. okay, okay, i guess that plan is ruined. into the caves it is." dream stopped circling, bounding forward a few paces before pausing to wait. "do you want me to follow you?" he asked. the dog only stared, looking vaguely exasperated. "okay, sure. what could it hurt?"

punz shuffled to catch up, head practically swivelling to keep an eye out for monsters. they finally ducked into one of the cave openings and he sighed. he pulled out a torch and his sword, one in each hand, as they continued further into the tunnel. eventually dream dropped back to his side and punz looked down at him. "do you have any idea how to get out of here?" he felt a little stupid talking to the dog, but he was the best he'd gotten for company in days. talking to himself was becoming less than thrilling.

dream looked up at him and yipped, head cocking to the side. then he reared back and took off, leaving punz to race after him. they practically flew past any monsters lingering in the cave and the dog was weaving through twist after turn. then they hit a dead end. dream managed to look sheepish somehow and punz turned to stare back down the way they'd come. "we're definitely higher up than before. how about you follow me this time?" he suggested.

dream's tail picked up speed and he trotted to punz's side, so the man took that as agreement. "come on then." he led them back down the tunnel and into the open space of the cave, brandishing his torch. he watched in sick fascination when dream ripped a zombie that stumbled up from the way they'd come to bits, then shook his head. "this way leads up further. maybe this one will lead out."

to his credit, the dog kept up well, even when punz made a few more complicated maneuvers (like when the floor opened up below them at one point, and they had to inch around the edge by the wall). the tunnel looked promising. even if they didn't get all the way to the surface, he figured he could always dig the rest of the way up. the further up they got, the faster that process would be. they did eventually hit another dead end, but he didn't feel like backtracking any more.

"here, hold this," he offered the torch to dream, who took it easily. then he pulled out his pickaxe. "i'm digging the rest of the way out. we can't be that far from the surface," he explained when the dog looked at him, head tilted--.. why was he explaining himself to a dog? punz sighed and shook his head, getting the work.

just as he'd thought, they really weren't that far from the surface. a little bit of digging stone revealed dirt, flaking out above his head. "we're almost out, i think," he told dream, who remained perched dutifully a block or two behind him, wielding the torch he'd been given. punz swapped his pickaxe out for his shovel, and got right back to work. it couldn't have been more than an hour total when he finally broke the surface, clambering out and drawing his sword again.

dream leapt out of the hole too and punz covered it back up hastily, taking the torch back from the dog. dream barked again and wove around his feet again, so punz sighed, "follow you again, right?"

the dog didn't even bark or anything, just darted through the trees. punz breathed a tired sigh once more, then followed as quickly as he could manage. dream never left him behind, luckily, always pausing when he dropped too far behind. he didn't know how long they ran for, but he did know that he was panting, beyond exhausted. his muscles ached from being stuck in his cramped little shelter, and it was really starting to show.

dream seemed to notice this, though, for he slowed down to a trot, allowing punz to catch up and slow down too. "are we almost wherever you're taking us?" he inquired. dream's tongue lolled and he yipped. punz sighed-- he was doing that a lot. 

they walked for awhile longer. dream dispatched any monsters that came their way with impressive speed and skill. he was getting ready to give up-- climb a tree and sit there until the sun rose-- when he spotted something in the distance. a fire. dream perked up when he spotted the smoke too, barking loudly. "is this where you were leading me?" he peered down at the dog, who barked again.

"come on then, i can make the last stretch." punz relented, grinning down at dream. the dog bounded ahead and punz released a deep breath, feet barely touching the ground with each step as he ran. as they approached though, he slowed down. he didn't know who's camp this was and approaching that quickly could end poorly for him. he was sure it was probably dream's owner's camp, but still..

dream slowed too, dropped back to his side and keeping pace with him. he barked and someone called out, "dream, is that you?" they appeared over the small hill, still speaking, "where have you been? you ran off hours ago and--" they finally seemed to notice him, for they stopped in their tracks and pulled their sword out.

he held up his hands, palms out. "uh, hey. your dog kind of.. helped me out? then brought me here." he blinked when dream stepped in front of him, and the stranger only shook their head.

"right, well.. dream vouches for you, so i guess that's good enough for me. i'm sapnap." the man tucked his sword away and stepped closer, sticking his hand out.

punz shook it hesitantly, dropping his hands to his sides. "i'm punz. i fell into a ravine and he found me, then helped me find my way out." sapnap only scratched behind dream's ears with a grumble.

"you're welcome to stay here for the night. george and bad are already asleep, so just find somewhere by the fire, i guess. we're heading back to our village in the morning and you're welcome to come with." the man offered, leading them over the hill. as he mentioned, there were two others already asleep by the fire, so punz picked the side opposite them to sit.

as he was laying down-- the ground still not comfortable, but far more comfortable than solid stone-- dream settled beside him. punz paused to watch sapnap sit down, facing away from him, before he turned over, back toward the fire. carefully, he reached out and scratched behind his ears. "thanks, dream," he muttered under his breath. the dog huffed out a breath and tipped his head into his hand.

"i'll take that as a 'you're welcome'," he added softly, letting his hand drop, "so you're welcome too. you seemed pretty lost down in those caves too." dream bumps his wet nose against his and punz breathes out a laugh. "we'll call it even, then."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i hope you enjoyed!
> 
> i've got plans for an antfrost and a technoblade chapter. maybe a niki chapter. we'll see what i get to, but definitely keep an eye out.


	6. of cats and claws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> george finds a cat in the house. bad lets the cat stay in the house. sapnap wonders when they got a cat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> bad!!! yo, there's a stray cat outside!

the first time the siamese cat shows up, george is very, very confused. he isn't sure how it got into the house, or why, but it's asleep on their sofa. his first instinct is to chase it out. his second is to grab dream. he acts on his second, hooking his fingers into dream's collar as the dog bounds in behind him.

the cat stretches out with a yawn, then pauses when it sees him stood there. dream barks noisily, straining against george's hold. the cat stands, back arching high, then leaps from the sofa. "hey, maybe you shouldn't--" he starts. the cat is approaching dream and he's prepared to wrangle the dog further, but the siamese weaves around dream's legs and the dog only sniffs at it.

george hesitates, then releases his hold on dream and crouches down. the cat rubs against his hand when he holds it out and he smiles a little. "where'd you come from, little guy?" he asked softly, running his hand down the kitty's back.

the cat only meows. looking at it, the siamese seems a little small, but relatively healthy. with a little laugh, george leans forward on his toes carefully and draws the cat into his arms. "you'd better get back home, little guy. bad and sapnap definitely won't let me take in a cat too."

he trots down the outside steps and sets the cat down on the grass across the path. dream follows, tail waving high behind him. the cat mrows and stretches lithely, then trots off.

when bad and sapnap get home, he mentions it over dinner. "did either of you leave the door open or something? there was this cat in the house.."

"uh, no. you did let it back outside, right? it probably just got in through the basement window. i left it open because i was smelting some gold." sapnap leaned back in his chair, dropping dream a piece of his steak.

"of course i put it back outside," george mutters, crossing his arms. "i was just curious."

"maybe you should leave some food outside for it," bad suggested lightly. "it could be a stray-- did it have a collar?"

"it didn't. but yeah, i'll leave some fish out for it. dream and i caught some a couple days ago while we were out and we had some spares." george kicked his chair out away from the table and stood up, taking his plate to the sink. retrieving a salmon from the chests, he took it outside and set it down in a spare bowl. "there. just in case it comes back," he told dream, corralling him back inside.

"dream?" bad calls. he cannot find the dog anywhere, even though he knows there's almost no chance he got outside. "dream, where are you?"

he frowns and heads down to the basement. "come on, dream. don't be like that." he continues, peering between the chests stacked against one wall. still nothing. with a mumble, he shuffles through the doorway into their smelting room and there-- right there on the floor-- is dream.

the dog is fast asleep, curled up in front of their blast furnaces. they're running steady, smelting iron and gold. it's likely the pleasant warmth that drew dream in for a nap and-- hey, is that a cat?

he crouches down and brushes his hand over dream's head and he's right. curled up beside the dog is a small siamese cat, purring loudly and twitching a little in it's sleep. "hey there," he murmurs when the cat peeks an eye open, staring right at him. it tips it's chin up and he scratches under it gently. "what're you doing in here?"

the cat's legs stretch out and it rolls over to it's back. he rubs his hand over it's exposed belly and coos softly when it's paws wrap around his wrist. there's a little bit of claw, but it isn't malicious or harmful as the cat kneads at his arm.

"are you that cat george talked about? the one that got in a couple weeks ago?" he asks, though he knows it won't-- can't-- answer. the cat meows, purrs rising in volume, and bad smiles. dream huffs a little and the man notices then that he's awake too, tail thumping against the ground.

"sorry for disturbing your nap," he comments, standing up and brushing himself off. "i'll leave you be. dream, make sure he's out before george and sapnap get home," he orders the dog, who whines through a yawn and chuffs out a soft noise.

sapnap is so confused. "when did we get a cat?" he mumbles to himself, watching dream grapple with the cat. at first, he thought they'd been fighting, but dream's tail was wagging and there was no actual harm involved. he's been stood in the kitchen doorway, watching them dash around the living room.

"hey, uh.. george?" he shouts, leaning back toward the stairs.

"what's up, sapnap?" comes the response.

"when did we get a cat?" he calls back, eyeing the siamese.

"what?" george sounds confused. "we don't have a cat, what are you on about?"

"well.. there's a cat. it's playing with dream?" he pauses, "it's like.. tan and brown. siamese? i think that's what they're called."

"what?" sapnap is beginning to think george needs a larger vocabulary. he really does say 'what?' a lot. then the other comes bustling down the stairs, peering over his shoulder. "oh, huh. that's the cat that got in awhile ago. remember?"

"huh," sapnap echoes absentmindedly, watching the cat leap from the couch to dream's back. it tumbles off and dream barks, nosing at it's face and belly. it's small paws come up and grasp at his muzzle, then it's drawing the dog's head down, tongue rasping over the ruffled fur on the top of his head. "huh," he repeats.

"bad says it comes around sometimes. he thinks they're friends. i've seen it around a few times too." george pats him on the shoulder and turns to head back up the stairs, leaving sapnap to his staring.

once the two start chasing one another again, he traipses across the living room and sits down on the couch. it's much more comfortable than standing in the doorway and it's partially his house anyway. left with nothing better to do but watch them race around, sapnap leans against the back of the couch and sighs.

he isn't sure when he fell asleep, but he's a little uncomfortably warm when he wakes up. he blinks blearily. the lights are off and he's still on the couch. it's dark outside too. "damnit, george," he mutters, "you could've at least woken me up."

when he looks down, he's got dream sprawled across his lap. the dog is snoring away, dead to the world. reaching back, he touches more fur. it takes a minute of blind groping, but he manages to find ears and a head. "the cat?" he mumbles sleepily. he's got the cat curled around his shoulders.

it mrows softly, almost disgruntled by the awakening, and sapnap drops his hands. "sorry, sorry." he doesn't know why he's apologizing to the cat. it wasn't his fault it chose to sleep on him-- and it wasn't even his cat! 

with a yawn, he ruffles dream's ears and relaxes back into the couch. "whatever. you make a decent pillow anyways," he grumbles. the cat doesn't respond audibly, but there's something damp and scratchy running along his hair-- "are you.. grooming me?" he squints into the darkness of the room and grumbles, using a finger to prod at the cat gently. "quit it. it feels weird."

with another muted yawn, sapnap tips his head back. dream isn't moving anytime soon, so he might as well just go back to sleep. he's comfortable enough anyways, what with the cat's body pillowing his head.

the cat becomes a common occurrence around the house after that. whereas before it would only come around once a week or so, now it shows up almost everyday. it becomes weirder to not see the cat than it does to see it hanging around the house. one time, it even accompanies bad and dream across town for a trip to the shops.

it practically lives with them at this rate. the only thing it's missing is a name and a collar. that changes eventually.

the cat is asleep in bad's lap when sapnap, surprisingly, brings it up. "so.." he starts, feet kicked up on the coffee table. "what are we calling him?"

"what?" george looks over at him from where he's draped across dream on the floor.

"the cat? what are calling him. it feels weird calling him 'the cat'. i mean, he's practically ours now, right?" sapnap presses. "i think blue is a nice collar color."

"i thought you'd be against another pet, sapnap," bad points out.

"well.. he's grown on me, okay? he lives here anyways, we might as well make it official." sapnap grumbles.

"we could call him hank," george suggests idly.

"hank? hank? we are not calling our cat hank, george." sapnap drops his feet to the floor with a thump.

"it was just a suggestion," george defends.

"what about ant?" bad pipes up, running his hand down the cat's back.

"hm," sapnap ponders. "that's cute."

"we could call him ant. wasn't there that guy hank that lived here ages ago? he went by ant something, didn't he?" george agreed.

"oh my god," sapnap groans. "we're calling him ant, agreed?"

the other two chime in their agreement, and it's made official. they have a cat now. somehow. it's a little confusing really, and they still aren't one hundred percent sure how he kept getting in-- but that doesn't matter in the end, does it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> haha antvenom reference. it was entirely unintentional at first, i promise.
> 
> i hope you enjoyed! :)


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